Q&A with first black woman in space

Friday

Jan 9, 2009 at 6:00 PM

David Hunt

Mae Jemison, a business owner and college professor who, 16 years ago, became the first black woman to travel in space, sounds like quite the role model.Just not according to her.During a speech Friday in Jacksonville, Jemison said her accomplishments shouldn't compare to what kids can learn from mom and dad in their own homes.Her remarks came during the 22nd annual Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast, a Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce event that drew a crowd of roughly 1,500 at the Prime Osborn Convention Center.The event also showcased the latest race relations study from Jacksonville Community Council Inc., which identifies gaps among whites, blacks and Hispanics.Whether or not the U.S. is closer to closing those gaps by having elected its first minority president, Jemison said Barack Obama's inauguration Jan. 20 will be a step in a continuing journey."It is part of, but it is not the fulfillment of, King's dream," she said.After the speech, the Times-Union spent a few moments with Jemison to talk about role models, the economic dynamic of race and whether King's dream can ever be achieved.In an Associated Press interview near the time of the Endeavor launch in 1992, you mentioned how you were wary of being just a role model for young black girls unless you were also a symbol for older white males who often decide what those girls will become. How do you see the needs of a role model today?With the term role model, we have done something in this society that's very, very dangerous. We have used buzz words and jingoism to the extent that words that had perfectly good definitions have become so distorted. Psychologically, a role model was someone you learned your behavior from. Public figures aren't really that. We're not necessarily seeing them all the time. Really, I learned to stay up all night to finish a project not [from] some nebulous person, but because my mother, who was a schoolteacher, would also stay up all night to make sure she sewed our clothes. That translates into me being a medical student, where I'm going to learn it's not a big deal to do the work because I saw that behavior at home. That's what we're missing.Part of the report that was published today identifies salary gaps among whites, blacks and Hispanics in Jacksonville. What threats do you think a struggling economy place on race relations?I think any time you have severely wide gaps in capabilities - you could say wealth - or resources you wind up having problems. Very often schools are sort of supported at the level of wealth of the communities they're in. Somehow in the United States, we have to figure out how all kids can have the opportunity to develop their skills and talents. The schools ought to have the resources. The other part of it is we need to understand what we're doing with our money in this country. The economic crisis is really there, but it's as much a crisis of confidence in each other and belief and trust. And also so much greed that we've been looking at for years. The part in your speech about Barack Obama being a step toward, but not fulfillment of, King's dream: What do you think it will take to fulfill that dream?There's no single answer to that. We don't know all the components of the dream but we do know he started talking about poverty before he was killed. He started talking about the Vietnam War. We know that he talked about being responsible for our brothers and sisters around the world. It is further than this one single person. I don't know that it's important to say we've gotten there. I don't think you can ever say we've gotten there, at least within my lifetime, but we could certainly make strides and steps. Obama's election is certainly a stride. It's built on so many other things and so many other people. We have to keep moving. david.hunt@jacksonville.com,(904) 359-4025

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